Bio

Overview

I graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 1974 with a B.F.A. degree. I have been working as a professional artist/illustrator since then. My illustrations have appeared in both editorial and children's markets. My commissioned paintings have appeared in galleries and are part of private collections. I have been teaching drawing, advanced painting, and illustration for the past 20 years, and continue to do so at the du Cret School of Art in Plainfield, New Jersey and at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey. I have been involved with various Artist in Residence programs sponsored by the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission of New Jersey. These residencies included supervising mural projects in Central Ward Newark, teaching drawing and painting to under privileged children, as well as, adults in various communities, and teaching a prison arts program which resulted in the publication of a book titled "Drawing from Within", a compilation of inmate artwork.

Some Career Accomplishments

I have illustrated a children's video called "Squanto and the First Thanksgiving" for Rabbit Ears Productions, Inc., which appeared on Showtime the TV cable network. The video won Notable Children's Video honors from the American Library Association. Simon & Shuster has published the story in book form. I‚'ve also illustrated several other children's books including, "Tales Alive", ten multi-cultural folktales from around the world, published by The Williamson Co., which earned a Parents' Choice Award and Skipping Stones Honor award for exceptional contribution to multi-cultural and ecological awareness in children's literature. I illustrated "The Two Brothers", part of the family heritage series of "outstanding full-color children's picture books based on true stories about real American families", for the Vermont Folklife Center, and "The Gypsy Pot" an educational children's book which is part of the Evangeline Nicholas Collection published by the Wright Group. I have also completed a series of paintings based on Ancient Egyptian mythology for a CD-ROM program entitled "Voyage Up the Nile". This series has been developed by Simon & Schuster with the collaboration of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I have written and illustrated a yet to be published book in italian called "Il Ragazzo e l'Albero Magico", (The Boy and the Magic Tree), which is currently in Italy being carried by Teatrio Culurale di Venezia in search of a publisher. Additionally, my editorial illustrations have appeared in numerous magazines, such as Business Week, The Oxford American, Travel & Leisure, N.Y. Woman, Parenting, MS. Magazine, Audio, Sales & Marketing Management, 3.2.1. Contact, Scholastics, Choices, and many more.

Featured in the Scene section of the Two River Times of Red Bank NJ, "Michael Donato -The Illustrated Artist", by Eileen Moon. "Arrivano i Mostri" (The Monsters are Coming) 7 paintings selected from more than 3,000 entries around the world by Unicef Italia as part of a Children's Book show that has traveled throughout Italy, Europe, Asia, and New York.